Risonanze – music for viola da gamba

Risonanze is the début solo album of London-based viola da gamba player Ibrahim Aziz, who is one of the greatest performers of the instrument of his generation. This recording is a performance of immense expression, expertly delivered on a viol made by English string maker Barak Norman in 1712. The album includes one of the highlights of the baroque era the Cello Sonata No. 2 by J.S. Bach as well as other baroque works. Risonanze also includes contemporary works, including one specially written for Aziz. Popular between the 15th–18th centuries, the viol has a unique quality of the sound through plangent tones of its middle voice, silvery and vibrant high notes, and the depth of its bass and human-like qualities. Its bow is played with a technique that discourages sharp attacks on the strings, but instead draws out and threads together each note like beautiful pearls on a maiden’s neck, glowing with a silky halo. This quality of sound is not volume but resonance.